


Mistletoe and Ugly Christmas Sweaters

by Starfire_Wildheart



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: M/M, RWG secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 02:24:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8779462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starfire_Wildheart/pseuds/Starfire_Wildheart
Summary: This is my secret Santa fic for Rickyl Writers Group. My secret Santa is reedusislife and my prompts were Ugly Christmas Sweater, party games, shy kisses under mistletoe





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wings_of_Freedom_94](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wings_of_Freedom_94/gifts).



“Son of a bitch,” Daryl growled. He pulled back to throw the offending hammer off the balcony when a small voice from behind him made him stop in his tracks.

 

“Daryl that’s a bad word! Momma said you ain’t supposed to say bad words, mister.”

 

He slowly turned around and looked at the little eight-year-old girl. “Your momma said YOU ain’t supposed to say bad words, not me. I’m a grown up and I can say anything I want,” he huffed. Daryl sighed when the little girl just laughed at him instead of getting scared and running off. He really tried to be disliked but Sophia and her mom seemed to see right through his angry, asshole façade and now he’d been labeled as a ‘sweetheart’ and a helpful guy. Every time he ventured outside after school hours he was surrounded by kids from the complex. That was soon followed by women and the elderly asking him to fix things for them. That’s how he ended up smashing his damn finger with a hammer just now. Carol had asked him to hang Christmas lights around her balcony.

 

“You comin’ to the party tonight?” Sophia asked as she grabbed the excess garland so Daryl could put hang it easier.

 

“No,” he grunted.

 

“But why?” she pouted. “Everyone’s gonna be there. It will be fun! We will be playing party games and…” She paused and jumped when her father yelled her name.

 

Daryl glared at the door like he could see the bastard through the wood. Ed Peletier was a drunk, abusive bastard and Daryl wanted nothing more than to beat the man within an inch of his life. Carol had left Ed a little over a month ago but for now, Ed still had the right to visit Sophia. Once the case went to court Carol’s lawyer was sure that she would get sole custody of the little girl without question. As it was Ed was only allowed to visit her at home for one hour a week.

 

“I gotta go,” Sophia sighed as she put the garland down on the ground. “Bye, Daryl,” she said softly before going in the apartment.

 

Daryl pictured Ed’s head on every nail he hammered after that and he never hit his thumb again. It took him about an hour to get all the lights and garland up on the rail, the awning and around the posts on each side of the balcony. He was nearly frozen when he went back inside. Carol was standing in the kitchen at the island, her back to the door when he came inside. “I got everything finished if you want to make sure it’s how you want it.” She didn’t respond so he stepped closer and softly bumped her shoulder. “Anyone home?” he teased.

 

“Huh? Oh, sorry Daryl,” she pulled herself together. “You look frozen. Want some coffee?”

 

“Sounds great,” he nodded as he leaned against the Island and watched the older woman with concern. “What did the prick do this time?”

 

Carol turned around and looked at him with a weary smile as she handed him his coffee. “That obvious?”

 

“Well, the fact that he was here is all the reason I need to know something stupid happened.” He took a drink and let the hot liquid warm him from the inside out. “So, what did he do now?”

 

“He upset Sophia. I don’t know what he said to her and she won’t tell me. All I know is that they were sitting in the front room talking and suddenly she started yelling ‘I hate you!’ and ran to her room and slammed the door. I made him leave but she still won’t talk to me.”

 

“Mind if I try?” he asked as he sat his coffee cup down.

 

“Be my guest,” she smiled at him gratefully.

 

Daryl walked out of the kitchen, across the family room and down a small hallway to Sophia’s room. The door was open and he could see her curled up on her bed, her small body twitching with each hiccupped cry that escaped her. “Hey kid,” he said softly as he crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed behind her. “Wanna talk about it?”

 

Sophia shook her head no but didn’t say anything or even turn to look at him.

 

“Might help if you tell someone. If not me then tell yer momma, she can help,” he encouraged.

 

Sophia sat up quickly and shook her head. “Can’t tell momma.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Just can’t,” she sniffled and hugged her knees to her chest.

 

“Sophia if he touched you..”

 

“He didn’t. Momma could see us from the kitchen so he knew better,” she explained.

 

“Then what did he say, kid?”

 

“You’ll just say I’m stupid for believin’ him.”

 

Daryl took his hand and lifted her chin so she was looking into his eyes. “I would never call you stupid, Sophia because you aren’t.”

 

“He said momma was gonna go to jail when they went to court and it’s all my fault,” she sobbed.

 

“Hey, shhh now, it’s ok,” he soothed. “Your momma’s not going to jail kid, she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

 

“But that night when she call the police and they made him leave she hit him in the head with a lamp,” she cried.

 

“Because he was hitting you. Your momma didn’t do anything wrong, Sophia, she was protecting you. The police knew that when they got here. If she was going to get in trouble they would have taken her to jail that night.”

She looked at him with red-rimmed, wet eyes. “Really?”

 

“Really,” he nodded. “Would I lie you ya?”

 

She thought about that for a moment. Of all the adults she’d ever known Daryl always told her the truth even if it was something, the other adults would say she was too young to hear. “No you wouldn’t lie but how do you know for sure.”

 

Daryl smiled, he really liked this kid she reminded him a lot of himself when he was younger. She was smart, picked up on things most kids didn’t even understand and had a wariness about her that took most people years to get. “There is a sheriff’s deputy that lives just down the hall. Why don’t we ask him?” Deputy Grimes and Daryl had been attempting to flirt with each other since Rick moved in with his son and daughter two months ago.

 

Her eyes lit up at the idea but then she deflated again. “But momma would know something was up if we went. Unless… never mind, you wouldn’t like it,” she pouted.

 

“Unless what? How do you know I wouldn’t like something if ya don’t ask?” He saw the big puppy dog eyes and tried to cut her off but she was on him like a shark at the scent of blood.

 

Sophia gave Daryl her best pout and went in for the kill, the way she knew she could make Daryl say yes. She crawled the short distance to him and took his big hand in her tiny one. “If you go to the party with us then you can help me get Mr. Grimes aside and talk to him. I can’t do it by myself cause momma will just say I’m pesterin' and tell me to leave him alone but if you’re with me then she will think it’s just you two talkin,” she said excitedly.

 

Damn kids and their damn puppy dog eyed innocence and damn unconditional love. He gave her a hard look, trying his best to say no but when her bottom lip started quivering he was done for. “Fine, I’ll go to the damn party,” he huffed.

 

 

“Momma! Momma! Did you hear? Daryl said he’d go!” She bounced on the bed excitedly.

 

 

“I heard,” Carol said from her spot by the door trying to hide her grin.

 

 

“Can I give it to him now? I know it’s not Christmas yet but he can wear it to the party!” She said excitedly.

 

 

“I think it would be a great idea,” Carol nodded. She barely got out of the way before Sophia tore past her heading for the tree.

 

 

“Wear?” Daryl glared at Carol who was still smirking. “What did you do, woman?”

 

 

“Nothing.” She held her hands up in surrender. “Sophia picked it out and she bought it with her allowance. It’s all her.”

 

 

Sophia ran back in the room with a brightly wrapped box with bows on it and shoved it in Daryl’s hands before crawling back on the bed next to him. “Open it!” She ordered excitedly.

 

 

He looked at the box like it was a fragile piece of glass that would break with the slightest movement. He felt his eyes starting to water and blinked the tears back rapidly, clearing his throat to distract from the fact that he was trying not to cry. He tried to ignore the wink Carol gave Sophia. The only gift he’d ever received before had been from his uncle when Daryl had turned thirteen and Uncle Jess gave Daryl his crossbow. This was totally different, though, because no matter what was in the box, if it was a hand drawn picture or a handmade ornament, Sophia had picked it out herself, just for him. She’d thought enough of him to get him something. He was jarred from his thoughts when Sophia said his name.

 

 

“Aren’t ya gonna open it?” She asked.

 

 

“Hold yer horses, missy,” Daryl huffed at her. He slipped his finger in the fold of the snowman-adorned paper and peeled it away with care, revealing a white cardboard box. Sitting the paper aside he opened the box and looked down at the most God-awful, ugly Christmas sweater he’d ever seen in his life. He pulled it from the box and looked at it, trying his hardest not to laugh.

 

The shirt was a terrible shade of green and it had a huge Reindeer’s head on it. The deer had bucked teeth, crossed eyes and his tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth. Over the top of the deer were the words, ‘Ha Ha, Ya Missed Me!’ “You picked this out all by yourself?”

 

“Yep,” Sophia nodded proudly.

 

“I love it,” he grinned. “Thanks.”

 

“You can wear it to the Christmas party and we will match!” she said excitedly. “My sweater has a deer on it to.”

 

Inside he cringed but outwardly he nodded and smiled. “Alright.” Before he could finish Sophia jumped into his arms and hugged him. He stiffened, his first reaction to any sort of touch but soon enough he relaxed and patted her on the back. He carefully pushed her back, “I gotta go if I’m gonna be ready for this party on time. I’ll see you there, ok?”

 

“Kay,” she nodded then sat back on the bed.

 

Daryl made his way to the front door where he was stopped by Carol, who gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” she told him, gratefully.

 

He shrugged, “was nothin’, she’s a good kid.”

 

“And you are a good man Daryl Dixon, I don’t care what everyone else says,” she teased.

 

He rolled his eyes and laughed, “Shut up.” He opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. “If I find out you had anything to do with this sweater, you are so gonna pay.” With that parting thought, he headed to his own apartment to clean up.

 

~~**Ho Ho Ho**~~

 

The party was bustling with all the guests mingling and milling around. Maggie smiled happily as she handed Rick an eggnog. “The place looks amazing Maggie. You and Glenn have really made it look like a home.”

 

“Thanks,” she smiled. “I miss being on the farm but the commute is just so far for Glenn to drive every day. Besides, we still go see daddy every weekend so it’s not too bad.” There was a knock on the door and she excused herself to go answer it.

 

She swung the door open and had to hide her laugh behind her hand. “Hi Daryl, come on in.”

 

He shot her a glare but walked inside just the same. He stuffed his hands in his pocket and looked so tense that his muscles looked like coils under his shirt. “Sophia here yet?”

 

“Yeah, she and Carol are in the den.” Daryl heard Maggie crack up as he walked away and growled lowly.

 

“Daryl!” Sophia ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You’re just in time,” she said tugging him over to where Carol was standing and pushing him to sit in a chair.

 

“You are a pushy lil’ thing,” he smirked.

 

“Sorry,” Sophia blushed, “but me and momma need a third teammate so we can beat Carl!

 

“Teammate?” he asked just as Glenn shoved a baggie full of stuff into his hands.

 

“Do not open the bags until we say go,” Glenn reminded everyone.

 

Daryl looked around the room and everyone seemed to be broken up into teams of three and were scattered about the room. He was happy to see that he wasn’t the only one in an ugly Christmas sweater. Most everyone seemed to have one on. He glanced to his left and saw Rick sitting in a chair with Carl and Shane on either side of them. They looked like they were about to play for the Stanley Cup, not some stupid party game.

 

“Each team now has a baggie of supplies. Inside that baggie is a pair of pantyhose with the feet cut open, several balloons, two rubber bands, and a red nose. The person sitting in the chair puts the pantyhose on their head. On person standing blows up the balloons and ties em, the other person stuffs the balloons into the legs of the hose. Once you have six fully blown balloons in each leg completing your ‘antlers’ the person wearing the hose puts on the red nose while the two people standing sing Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,” Maggie explained. “The first team to finish wins!”

 

Daryl was ready to run for the hills but one look at Sophia had him sighing in defeat. Damn kids and their damn puppy dog eyes. Maggie yelled go and everyone sprang into action. Daryl shoved the hose over his head, Carol blew up the balloons and Sophia stuffed them in the legs of the hose. Daryl handed Carol the balloons and held the full ones until Sophia caught up with stuffing. He looked around the room to see how everyone else was fairing and realized that the only ones close were Daryl’s team and Rick’s team. “Come on Sophia!” he encouraged wanting to win for her.

 

Rick and Shane were encouraging Carl just as much but Daryl’s team was just enough ahead that he was able to put the nose on first. Carol and Sophia sang Rudolf way to fast and off key but they won! Sophia was jumping up and down happily as she hugged her mom and Daryl. “We did it, Daryl!”

 

“Yeah kid,” he chuckled, “we did it.” He looked up just in time to see Maggie snapping his picture. “Damn it Mags!” he snapped. She just giggled like a little girl and smiled. No one was afraid of him anymore it seemed.

 

The announcement was made that the food was out and everyone should help themselves and much to Daryl’s relief the room emptied out quite a bit. He pulled the “antlers” off of his head, took Sophia’s hand and walked over to where Rick was standing in the center of the room talking to Carl. “Hey, you got a second?”

 

“Sure,” Rick smiled. “What can I do for you?”

 

“Sophia has a question for you,” Daryl said pushing her toward Rick. She spun around and hid behind Daryl, clinging to his shirt.

 

A concerned look crossed Rick’s features. “Everything ok?”

 

Daryl knew that Sophia was very afraid of her father so he decided he’d ask for her. “Sophia had a question but she needs to be sure that you will keep it a secret.” He hoped Rick would pick up on the problem. It seemed he had.

 

Rick looked at Carl, “would you go get me some water?”

 

“Sure dad,” he sighed, knowing that he was supposed to leave the room and his dad really didn’t need a drink.

 

Rick knelt down so that he was eye-level with Sophia. “I promise that I will keep it a secret. You can talk to me about anything sweetheart.”

 

“You won’t tell?” She asked as she peeked around Daryl’s arm.

 

“Nope,” he shook his head.

 

“If somebody hurt somebody else while that person was tryin’ to hurt someone else will they go to jail,” she blurted out.

 

Daryl watched as Rick’s brow knitted together in confusion. “The bastard of a father told her that when they went to court Carol would be going to jail because she hit him in the head with a lamp the day he was hurting Sophia,” Daryl clarified.

 

“No, your mom will not go to jail for that sweetheart. You remember that it was your dad who was arrested that night, not your mom. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

“That’s what Daryl said but I didn’t believe him,” she said sheepishly.

 

“Your dad is just trying to scare you, kid. He wants you to try and talk your momma out of going to court because he knows he’s going to lose,” Daryl explained.

 

That seemed to be all the information Sophia needed because she hugged them both. “Thanks!”

 

“You’re welcome,” Rick laughed and stood back up.

 

Carl came back into the room and handed Rick a bottle of water. “Can I stay now?”

 

Daryl and Rick both chuckled. “Yes you can stay, punk,” Rick shoved playfully at Carl’s shoulder. He saw Carl wink at Sophia who tugged on Daryl’s shirt.

 

Daryl looked down at the little girl. “What?”

 

“You are standing under the mistletoe,” she pointed up at the green stuff hanging from the ceiling.

 

“So?”

 

“So that means you two have to kiss,” Carl snickered.

 

“Yeah,” Sophia nodded and giggled.

 

Rick smiled and looked at Daryl, “They're right you know? It is tradition,” he stepped closer to the smaller man. Daryl was blushing and looked like he was ready to run.

 

Daryl couldn’t believe this was happening. Sure he and Rick had flirted with each other but was he really going to kiss him here? Before he could think about it too much Rick pressed his lips to Daryl’s softly in a quick, shy kiss. He jumped and stepped back when Carl and Sophia giggled and ran off. Daryl shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around nervously. He’d wanted to ask Rick out for coffee but after that kiss, it seemed awkward.

 

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while now,” Rick said nervously. “Didn’t know if you would be interested.”

 

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“Well I’ve been hinting around for awhile that I like you and you never said anything,” Rick explained.

 

“I didn’t know you were hinting. Thought you was just being nice,” he shrugged.

 

“Well I was being nice,” Rick chuckled, “but it was because I was trying to get you to like me.”

 

“Well, it worked. I like you.” Daryl smiled. This time he was ready when Rick’s lips crashed into his own.


End file.
